


Somehow, It'll Work Out

by georgina_bulsara



Series: A Series of Tropes in Broadchurch [2]
Category: Broadchurch
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Halloween, Post-Season/Series 03, Slow Burn, autumnal feels, dumbasses in love, fancy-dress party, in which hardy does anything daisy asks him to, probably, something possessed me to dress alec hardy up as a mime, there will be a halloween chapter, very light angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-11-06
Packaged: 2020-12-17 03:48:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21047792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/georgina_bulsara/pseuds/georgina_bulsara
Summary: After Daisy's botched matchmaking attempt, Alec and Ellie have to be more careful around his daughter.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i'm backkk! i needed to start a new work mainly because i was getting fed up writing in present tense! so this story directly follows the previous one in this series. i don't really know exactly where it's going, i just write and post what i come up with. hope you enjoy it! thank you for reading <3 !

_Ellie was typing at her computer in Broadchurch CID, but the screen wasn’t showing what she was writing. Instead it was painting a beautiful picture of the cliffs in an impressionist style. She was staring at it with awe when she noticed someone moving behind her, stepping up to the back of her swivel chair. They stood there looking over her shoulder at the screen, and she could sense that they were close but not close enough to touch. The cliffs were almost complete when a finger tapped her shoulder. Ellie stood up and turned around—Alec Hardy was towering over her, wearing a turtleneck and patterned trousers. He held his arms open and she fell into a firm hug, her face buried in the material of his turtleneck—_

Her nose was being squashed by a small fist. Ellie was jerked awake by Fred clamoring over her bed and begging for breakfast. The vague comfort of the dream immediately evaporated into a routine morning of packing lunches, brewing coffee, and getting everyone dressed and out the door on time. 

It was the morning after the blind date with Hardy, and Ellie dreaded going into work. It wasn’t so much the workday that she was anxious about, so much as her coworkers. _One_ coworker in particular.

After parking her car she stalled on the steps to Broadchurch CID by fiddling with her suit jacket collar and the handbag hanging across her chest. Then she realised she forgot to pick up her coffee from the counter, so she ran down the street to the nearest café to buy a coffee, as well as a chai latte for Hardy. She knew he actually loved milky, frothy drinks, he just didn’t afford himself the satisfaction of drinking them very often. Today was a day she’d need to soften him up, so Ellie figured it was worth spending a few pounds on him. 

Finally she walked in to her desk. The sight of her computer momentarily jogged her memory about some strange dream…but she didn’t bother to strain to remember more of it. Hardy was already poised in front of his computer, resting his chin on his hand. He looked up and nodded in her direction while she set down her bag. _No use in prolonging this any further, _she thought as she grabbed his drink and headed over to the door to his office. “Morning. Got you a latte.” She brandished the drink and set it in front of him. 

“Mm. Thanks,” he said, without looking up. 

“You haven’t spoken to Daisy since the uh… dinner last night, have you?” Ellie stared at him until he finally looked away from his screen and wrapped his hands around the warm tea. 

Hardy blew on his drink before taking a tentative sip. “No, she spent the night at the Latimers and went into school with Chloe this morning. Did you see her last night?”

“Yes, about that… so I know we said it would be nice to prove Daisy’s matchmaking prank was completely silly and just ignore it until we think of a way to get her back, so to speak.” Ellie was fiddling nervously with the corner of his desk. 

“Yeah, that seems a little childish now that I think about it,” said Hardy. “Stooping to her level. I’ll just explain to her that we’re adults, we don’t appreciate being set up by 18-year-olds, and tell her to leave us alone in future.”

Ellie gave him a pained smile, cringing slightly. “That would be great, I totally agree with you. Except… I might have already bollocksed up that plan last night when I got home…”

“What d’you mean?” Hardy was still blissfully unaware of where Ellie was going with this confession. _I wonder how mad he’ll get and how much he’ll take it out on me… _

“Well, I got home, right. And as we expected, Daisy was there keeping Chloe company, the two of them were playing FIFA with Tom, and Fred was in bed. That was all good.” Ellie paused to carefully consider what she wanted to say next. “And, before I could say anything, Daisy got really excited and was asking me how it went.”

“And what did you tell her?” Hardy took another sip of chai latte. 

“She looked so hopeful and excited…”

“You already said that, just spit it out, Miller.” If she hadn’t been terrified of his reaction to what she was about to say, Ellie would have teased him about the thin line of foam lining his upper lip.

“Alright, I told her that it went really well and we would be going on another date soon.” Her eyes darted around everywhere but Hardy’s face and she crossed her arms nervously around her as if to protect herself. Ellie awaited the inevitable outburst and chastising. 

“You _what_?!” Hardy flung his glasses onto his desk and crossed his arms. “Is that not the absolute opposite of what we discussed last night?” His eyes glared up at her incredulously. 

Ellie chewed her lip, figuring she would just ignore the rhetorical question. “I hope I don’t regret this too much,” she muttered, half to herself. 

“Miller,” groaned Hardy, an I-can’t-believe-you’ve-done-this-to-me expression on his face. “We’ll talk about it later, we both have work to do.” He gestured at her desk and the pile of paperwork to get done. “Thanks for the latte,” came the afterthought. 

\---

Ellie stressed throughout the work day. Obviously, when she had talked with Daisy, she hadn’t been envisioning what the repercussions of positive feedback would be. It was also dawning on her now that lying to Daisy was probably something Hardy was trying to stop doing, and she’d just worsened it by providing Daisy with a very skewed version of events. She considered texting Beth to first of all rat her out for going along with the prank, and secondly ask her advice about what to do about her lie to Daisy. She hadn’t heard from Beth yet, and wondered if maybe Daisy had already gotten to her… 

Hardy was taking interviews related to a recent robbery and didn’t get back to the office in time to share a lunch break with Ellie, who was already on the phone sorting out some mistakes in a report sent in from SOCO by the time he got back. He made toast and tea in the kitchen before settling back in front of his computer. He didn’t look any grumpier than usual, but Ellie still avoided meeting his eyes. She had to speak with Beth before she faced him. At that moment, her personal phone pinged with a message:

_B: chloe told me the date went well last night! excited to hear about it xx_

_Great, _thought Ellie. Daisy, Chloe, and Beth probably had a groupchat dedicated to her love life. Ellie typed out a reply, looking round to make sure she wasn’t needed urgently anywhere. 

_E: are you free right now? would love to have a chat_

As soon as she got a reply from Beth, Ellie notified Hardy that she was taking a quick break and went out to the rounded balcony of the police station. Beth picked up her phone call on the second ring, delight exuding from her energetic greeting. “Hiya Ellie!”

“Hey Beth, I’d rather do this in person, but I needed to talk to you before the end of the work day.” Ellie leaned against the railing of the balcony and sighed. 

“First date with Hardy just that good, was it?”

“Well, not quite. See, I was actually pretty furious about the whole thing, being set up behind my back and all. We don’t see each other that way and it was kind of embarrassing showing up to the restaurant when we were both expecting something else! But that’s not the problem,” Ellie was speaking quickly as she began pacing along the railing. “Hardy and I agreed that we would tell Daisy off for the silly prank, and forget about the whole thing. Only when I got home last night, I couldn’t bear to let her down, so I just sort of confirmed her suspicion that it went really well, when it didn’t.” 

“Oh,” interjected Beth, an air of disappointment in her voice.

“So basically, Hardy and I have to discuss what we’re going to tell Daisy, and I wanted your help, maybe you can redeem yourself for what you did yesterday. D’you think it’s better to just come out with the truth, or let Daisy believe that we are seeing each other… it would honestly be easy to fake it for her, just work overtime and tell her it was a date, it can’t be that hard. I would feel bad lying to her, but at least it wouldn’t be dashing her hopes of mending her poor old dad’s dismal love life.” 

“Isn’t this something you and Hardy should decide?”

“Well, yes, but I know he would be totally against keeping up the charade for Daisy, he’ll want to tell her the truth. I just wanted to hear from a normal person whether that was completely bonkers, or if lying to Daisy would be beneficial in the long run. And since you clearly talked to Daisy about all this, I figured maybe you’d know better how she’d react.”

“So you don’t fancy Hardy at all, you could never see anything in him?”

“Beth, that’s not what I’m talking to you about! I’m asking you about his daughter.” Ellie grit her teeth together to hold back from snapping at Beth. She was sure Beth would sooner set Ellie up with her estranged husband Mark than encourage her to start dating her grumpy Scottish boss. 

“Yeah, but you realise this problem could be fixed if you just actually started dating Hardy… which is the whole reason we set you two up anyway. Daisy seems to think you’re soulmates or something.” 

Ellie couldn’t believe her ears. “Well she’s wrong! He’s my boss and it would just make every aspect of my life a living hell!” 

“So tell her that, then. She’ll be devastated but she’ll get over it.” Beth sounded like she was explaining something to a stubborn toddler. 

Ellie grumbled and ended the call with Beth, after confirming the upcoming Harvest/Halloween party plans that had been a success the year before. At least whatever this mess was wouldn’t be the end of their friendship, which had finally returned to the strength it had been before their lives were upended by Danny’s death. 

\---

At the end of the work day, Alec and Ellie were nearly the last ones still in the office. Ellie shut down her computer and was laying out work to do the next day when she heard Hardy seethe behind his desk. 

“Shit!”

Ellie poked her head over the top of her desktop. “What is it?”

“Miller, you still here?” Hardy called out. “Can you come here for a second?” Ellie tentatively made her way to his door, closing it behind her in case there were any stragglers in the office. 

“Yes?” If she hadn’t been dreading this conversation since late last night, she could almost believe he’d called her in to discuss some fuck-up she’d made in relation to a case. Hardy was rubbing his eyes with his mobile and glasses laid out in front of him.

“Just got a text from Daisy.” He crossed his arms and frowned up at Ellie. She wasn’t sure if he was going to elaborate, so she raised her eyebrows at him. Rather than explaining, he held up his phone so she could read the offending message. 

_D: daddddd can’t wait to hear about the results of my genius matchmaking scheme XD you should invite ellie over for dinner soon! What about tonight? I’d love to get to know her. lmk, i can run to the store if she’s coming! and of course she should bring the boys too. see you soon ;) xoxo_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol what is sleep?  
anyway, enjoy the next chapter. i have to admit, fred is entirely ripped off from what i remember my youngest cousin being like at age 5.

Alec Hardy trudged up the hill to his house. He had walked to work that morning, since he hadn’t needed to give Daisy a lift to school, but now he was ever so slightly regretting it. The temperature had dropped dramatically. The wind nipped at his face, causing his nose to run and eyes to water. His hair flipped every which way across his head and he wished he’d brought a scarf. 

Before leaving the station, he and Ellie had had a brief but intense argument about what to do about Daisy’s dinner invitation. Alec had wanted to delay any such gathering between their two families until they had properly discussed how they should break it to Daisy that he and Ellie wouldn’t actually be seeing each other romantically. Ellie argued that whatever they were going to do, it would be better to get it done sooner rather than later, seeing as misinformation was already being spread about. Then, another nagging text from Daisy had reminded Alec that she would be going out of town to visit Tess this weekend, so if Ellie could please come over tonight, that would be splendid. Hardy finally gave in when Ellie had promised that she would do most of the talking (i.e. potential lying) and that Fred would probably be distraction enough to steer the conversation away from uncomfortable territory. 

When Hardy got to his front door, he saw that Daisy had taken the car to go to the shops for him. He still wasn’t used to her being able to drive, and for a split second he thought that someone had stolen the car, his mind already making the leap to start figuring out who had done it. 

He wasn’t used to having guests over—no one besides Ellie and Daisy’s friends had ever really been in his house since he’d moved in. The plumbers and property managers didn’t count… 

He looked around at the living room, trying to reason that it was presentable enough for company. It was Miller, after all. She wasn’t exactly a neat freak. Hardy nonetheless removed the stray magazines, jumpers, and earphones from the area. 

Soon enough Daisy was back with all the ingredients for a very simple meal: cheese and bread for toasties, and boxes of tomato bisque. For her dad’s sake, she’d thrown in some greens for a side salad. Daisy was in an exceptionally good mood for it being the day before she was scheduled to go visit her mum. She chatted about her test results and let Hardy in on some of the newest gossip travelling around the school. 

While Daisy and Hardy were buttering the bread for cheese toasties, a knock (or rather, a few small knocks and several slaps) came to the door. From the kitchen they could see most of the front door, but no one was to be seen. Hardy frowned and went over to the door, a half-buttered slice of bread still in his hand. He soon saw the cause for confusion—Fred was unsupervised and had gotten to the door before Tom and Ellie.

“Hello, Fred!” said Hardy, sliding the door open to let him in. Fred suddenly looked shy and backed up in silence. Ellie and Tom appeared, seemingly mid-argument, and Fred ran up to tug at his mum’s trousers. 

“Being shy tonight, are we?” said Ellie. She looked at Hardy and nodded hello. “He gets really timid when he’s not in his own house, but I’m sure he’ll make himself comfortable soon enough.” Hardy stepped aside to let the three Millers in. 

“Mmm, what’s that smell?” Tom said as soon as he’d crossed the threshold. Ellie elbowed him. “I mean, hello, thanks for having us over.”

Daisy practically skipped out of the kitchen and gave everyone hugs. “It’s tomato soup and we’re about to fry the cheese toasties!” Ellie was about to properly introduce Daisy to Fred and Tom, but then she remembered there was no need. They were clearly accustomed to Daisy and greeted her with gusto. Fred immediately asked her if she had the crafts table set up, as if this was a long-standing play-date between the two of them and not a last-minute dinner for their parents. Daisy lead Fred off to her room, and Tom followed them showing significantly less enthusiasm. 

Miller and Hardy exchanged glances and shrugged their shoulders. _It almost seems like Daisy set us up just so she could spend more time with Fred and Tom, _Ellie thought, wondering if the same thought had occurred to Hardy. 

“Well, I guess you can take over for Daisy, then,” said Hardy, motioning to the kitchen. 

They assembled sandwiches in silence until a thought crossed Hardy’s mind. “What does Tom know? Did you lie to him as well about last night?” 

Ellie made an exasperated sound at being reminded that she had lied. “I told him that we were still figuring things out and not to ask questions. He didn’t seem remotely interested anyway, so I don’t think he’ll give us half as much trouble as Daisy will.” 

“And wee Fred?”

As if on cue, the five-year-old dashed into the room brandishing a short stick. “Look mummy, Daisy has stuff we can make wands with!”

“That’s lovely Freddie, but please be careful waving that thing around,” cautioned Ellie. 

Hardy let out a faint giggle as Fred pointed his stick in various directions while muttering gibberish. “Are you a magician, Fred?” he asked, hoping Fred wouldn’t ignore him like he had when he arrived. Hardy had grown quite fond of Fred when he was a toddler, but when he had returned to Broadchurch after a few years’ absence, Fred no longer reciprocated the same fondness as before. 

“No, I’m a wizard!” said Fred, shocked that Hardy could even make such a clueless mistake. 

“Chloe started reading him _Harry Potter_,” explained Ellie, “even though I think he’s a little too young. He’s obsessed now.” 

Hardy nodded in recognition. He remembered Daisy’s _Harry Potter_ phase clearly, and to be honest, he wasn’t sure she’d ever grown out of it. 

\---

Dinner went surprisingly well. Daisy didn’t ask any prying questions, and the conversation veered more towards Daisy’s future plans. Ellie asked about where she’d like to go to university, only to find that it was a bit of a sore topic between her and Hardy. Daisy wanted to go somewhere up north (preferably Scotland), but her parents, in a rare instance of agreement, were urging her to stay within two or three hours from both of them. 

Tom chose this moment to join in on the conversation. “I thought you loved it down here though, Daisy,” he said in between two bites of cheese toastie. 

“Oh I do,” quipped Daisy, “I just think it’s a bit hypocritical for my dad to tell me where I can go to uni when he moved a good 8 hours away from home at my age.” She glared pointedly at Hardy, who brushed it off and shovelled a piece of lettuce into his mouth. 

“You’re right, Daisy,” said Ellie. “It is hypocritical of him. _I_, however, can tell you that it’s not all bad, staying close to home. I’ve lived here all my life, and I still love it. Most of the time.”

“I am going to miss it here.” On that wistful note, Daisy rose to start clearing plates. “Hot cocoa, anyone?” 

“Thank you so much for such a lovely dinner, Daisy,” said Ellie. Then, as an afterthought, “and Alec.” 

Daisy set mugs on the table. “Of course! How does it compare to the restaurant last night?” She smiled at Hardy, having still heard nothing from him about the night before. Alec, who had barely said anything throughout the whole meal, seemed to have forgotten about the whole thing for a split second. “How was the dinner?”

“Oh,” he said finally, sighing. “The _food _was delicious.” 

“Is that all you’re going to say?” Hardy’s mouth was closed firmly, and he looked to Ellie for assistance. 

“It was unexpected, but we had fun,” said Ellie. “And I’d never been to that restaurant before, it was very nice.” 

“How surprised were you to see Ellie there, Dad?” Daisy was not quite ready to drop the subject, whereas Alec looked as if he would much rather be discussing magical wands with Fred, who had lost interest in the conversation and was playing in the living room.

“Very,” he said, arms crossed and brow furrowed.

“Christ, don’t look too thrilled about it,” scoffed Ellie. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll eventually get him to tell me more details. Once he’s gotten over the initial shock of finally getting together with the woman of his dreams,” said Daisy, in an overly dramatic manner. She beamed at Ellie, who was now blushing. 

“Right, finish your hot cocoa Tom, we have to get you and Fred to bed.” Tom had already finished his cocoa, but he swigged the rest of Fred’s and was ready to go. Ellie started to help clean up, but both Daisy and Hardy insisted that she should not. The Millers put on their coats and moved towards the door. 

“See you tomorrow, then,” said Alec. 

“Yep, thanks for dinner.” Ellie nudged Tom and he mumbled his thanks as well. “And have a good weekend visiting your mum, Daisy.” 

As soon as they were out of sight, Daisy turned to Hardy and said, “You know you can kiss her in front of me, Dad. I really don’t mind.”

Hardy sputtered for a couple seconds before telling Daisy to go to bed. She playfully pushed him and went back to the kitchen, where they did the washing up together. Hardy didn’t nag her to go to bed or go pack, since he knew he would miss small moments like this when she was away. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks to everyone who reads this stuff! i just write this for pure fun, but it's always nice to know people actually read it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a sort of short chapter, and i wrote it really quickly so apologies for any errors. the next chapter should be up soon though! hope you enjoy

It was a slow Friday in the Broadchurch police station. Hardy was planning on dodging out early to take Daisy to the train station. Ellie was going to meet Beth with all their kids for a game night, complete with takeaway pizza. She was seriously considering inviting Hardy, even though she knew he would turn his nose up at pizza and would probably be a terrible grump about whatever games they wanted to play. As he was heading out of the office, she decided to mention it to him anyway, giving him the choice. He was taking forever to leave, kept pacing his office to gather items, then would move towards the door, only to double back. She caught his eye and for a second he looked like he might be about to walk up to her and say something. Ellie walked over to his doorway.

“Plans tonight?”

Hardy looked shocked, as if she had just breached some workplace policy. “No,” he stammered. 

Ellie ignored his nervous response. “Right, well if you’re up to it, Beth and I are having a little game night. With the kids.”

“Oh.” Evidently this wasn’t the follow-up he had been anticipating. “No.” Ellie didn’t bother expressing annoyance or surprise. He _loved _saying no. “But… are you free the rest of the weekend?”

“Yes.” Ellie smiled. “Just let me know.”

He nodded. “Good. I’ve got to go take Daisy now, ‘m running late.” 

After Hardy had finally gone, Ellie’s colleague Daniela leaned over close enough to be heard at a low whisper. “Are the two of you together yet?”

This was obviously not the first time people had misconstrued their relationship. Ever since the court case, Ellie was pretty sure that most of their coworkers, and even her friends outside work, were certain that she and Hardy were secretly together. Ellie almost giggled at the thought that the reality was practically the opposite—they were secretly NOT together. 

At the same time, Ellie was surprised at how relaxed she was at the idea of pretending to be with Hardy for Daisy’s sake. Maybe it was because it didn’t feel like that much of a lie. It wasn’t like Daisy was going to ask about their sex life (she desperately hoped not, anyway), so dinner the night before had really felt like any other night she and Hardy might have spent together with their kids. Except for the part when Daisy grilled Hardy about the blind date, of course.

“No, we’re not,” replied Ellie with a slight smile. There was no use getting worked up about it. No matter how she said it, some people would believe her and some people wouldn’t. 

\---

Ellie didn’t hear from Alec until the afternoon the next day. Tom and Fred had slept in considerably after a late night being far too competitive at Monopoly with the Latimers. Ellie used the quiet morning to get some cleaning done and read some of her book. By the time Tom and Fred had risen, eaten, and wreaked havoc on the living room, Ellie knew she was going to need a drink later. She texted Hardy and checked in with Chloe about watching Fred.

That evening, Ellie walked down to the nearest pub and found Hardy already nursing a beer at the most secluded table. They exchanged pleasantries and said nothing else until Ellie was well into her own beer. 

“So, how often does Daisy visit Tess?”

“Oh, just one or two weekends a month usually. She doesn’t really want to, but it’s part of our agreement.”

“Does Tess live alone as well?” Ellie could tell this wasn’t what Hardy felt like talking about, but she was curious. And he never shared information unless pressured to do so. 

“You mean like I live alone? I don’t live alone,” he said brusquely, “I live with Daisy.”

“Of course, sorry. But you know what I mean.”

Hardy rolled his eyes. “I think she’s with someone, but I don’t know if he’s there all the time. Not when Daisy visits, anyway.” 

Ellie nodded to indicate that she understood and wasn’t going to pry further into his ex-wife’s private life. After ordering another round, she turned instead to a different but equally delicate topic. “So how many dates have you been on since you moved back to Broadchurch?”

Predictably, Hardy protested. “Noo, I don’t want to talk about that, Miller,” he groaned.

“Come on, we’re friends, aren’t we? I want to hear about your woes so that I can tell you mine and not have it feel one-sided.” 

Hardy was silent and peered at her over the rim of his pint. Ellie pressed on, sensing that he would soon acquiesce. “I really need to vent about dating in Broadchurch at my age and with kids, but you’ve been single longer than I have, so you should start.” She egged him on with a reassuring nod. “I won’t make any fun of you, I swear.” 

“Ach, alright,” he said thickly. “There’s not much to tell though. I’ve barely been on any dates.”

“Were they more just for fun, or were you hoping something would come out of them?”

Hardy noted Ellie’s use of the plural “they” to refer to the number of dates he’d been on, and figured there really wasn’t any need to correct her. “I mean they turned out to just be one-time dates, but I suppose I don’t go in thinking that it won’t turn into something more.”

“Is it because you’re lonely?” 

Hardy’s eyes widened. “To put it quite bluntly, I guess. I don’t mind being single, but I will be pretty lonely again once Daisy’s out of the house for good. I’m used to it, though.”

Ellie nodded and they sipped in silence, the din of the pub growing louder in the background. Hardy eventually continued. “I assume you’re dating? You must’ve been pretty disappointed to see me the other night.”

Ellie sighed. “Not really. It was more of a relief. I don’t think I’m ready to date yet.” She gulped the last of her beer. “Even though I’m really fucking lonely.” 

Hardy didn’t know what to respond to that, so he opted for a light, humorous reply. “At least you’ve got our pretend relationship when Daisy’s around!” 

Ellie snorted into her glass. “That girl has nerve! But it is sweet. I can see how much she cares about you.”

“Nah, she probably just thinks I’m a lost cause and can’t even ask women out on a date without help.” 

“Well…as far as I can tell you can’t! How did you ask Tess out?”

Alec was blushing fully now. “That’s not fair, Miller. I’ve asked plenty of women on my own.” He desperately hoped she wouldn’t make him elaborate—he would die of embarrassment if he had to revisit asking Becca Fisher out. 

A stifled guffaw escaped Ellie’s lips. “How did you and Tess get together!?” she insisted.

“She asked me out,” he said through bared teeth. 

“Daisy’s right then! You are hopeless!” 

Hardy concealed his grin with a scowl. At least this uncomfortable questioning had resulted in making Ellie laugh, which he much preferred to an angry or sad Ellie. “I’m going to cut you off from the alcohol now, Miller.” 

Ellie’s laughter died down to a couple giggles in between hiccups. “No, you’re right. I should get home, poor Chloe has been watching the kids too often for the amount I pay her.” 

“I’ll walk you home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next up: halloweeeeeeennnn and also bringing some old characters back can i hear a wahoo


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> due to lack of time and energy, this one's rather short as well :/ the next chapter will include the halloween party ! !

Ellie and her sister were notoriously bad at communicating with each other. Lucy had found out that Ellie had passed her police learning programme when Ellie pulled Lucy over for driving over the speed limit. And for the longest time, Ellie didn’t realise that Olly’s dad had abandoned the family—Lucy had always made it seem like he was simply away on business. 

It seemed that Ellie was the last to know that Lucy had moved back to Dorset after a few years living in Wales. And even still, once Ellie knew that Lucy was living in Yeovil, less than an hour away from Broadchurch, Lucy hadn’t told her she was seeing someone until she texted Ellie asking if she could bring him for a visit in late October to coincide with the party Beth was throwing. 

Ellie tried not to be bitter about this news. All the same, there _were_ plenty of reasons to be—first and foremost, Lucy lived so close, yet she never offered to come help Ellie with the kids anymore. And then Lucy was incredibly last minute. The party was in less than a week, and although Beth would surely not mind having extra people, Ellie was certain Lucy had not bothered to contact Beth about two more attendees. Ellie also felt a twinge of jealousy at Lucy’s supposed happy relationship. Sure, Lucy hadn’t had much luck with marriage either, but Ellie couldn’t help but think she deserved a caring, healthy relationship more than Lucy did right now. Having to observe her sister’s happiness up close was going to be more painful than Ellie cared to admit to herself. 

Leading up to Halloween was practically as if the Christmas holidays had been pushed forward by two months—Olly was also coming into town in time to make it to Beth’s party, which at this rate was promising to be rather wild. Olly had booked rooms at the Trader’s for both him and his mum, which thankfully left Ellie without the burden of hosting them all at her house. 

This year Halloween had coincided with the half term, so the holiday atmosphere prevailed amongst the kids. Daisy and Chloe planned several outings to second hand shops in search of the perfect costumes. On days that Beth worked, Daisy, Tom, and Fred all met at the Latimer house to keep Chloe and Lizzie company, and occasionally help Chloe with the list of chores Beth had left in preparation for the party. 

Two days before the Halloween party, Ellie was in the kitchen frantically making chocolate chip cookies after work. Tom was over at a mate’s, and Fred hadn’t wanted to come home from the Latimer’s yet, so Ellie hadn’t picked him up on her way home. 

There was a rap at the door, and Ellie assumed it was probably Chloe or Beth delivering Fred after his prolonged play-date. “Come in,” she called at the top of her lungs.

The door opened. “Ellie?” It was neither Beth nor Chloe. Ellie went into the hall. 

“Lucy!? I didn’t think you’d be here til tomorrow!” Lucy stood in the doorway, draped in a colourful scarf. Behind her loomed a tall man with salt-and-pepper hair and a smart coat. 

“We came earlier so we could meet up with some mates, take advantage of seeing the cliffs and the sea on the off season.” Lucy came forward to hug Ellie. A gust of wind from outdoors reminded her that she should probably welcome Lucy and her man inside. 

“Come in, I’m just making some things to bring to the party,” Ellie said, stepping back towards the kitchen. 

Lucy and her companion follow her. “El, this is my boyfriend Kevin. He’s an accountant. We met online, and we’ve been living together in Yeovil for a few months.” Lucy was beaming. Ellie extended her hand cordially, which Kevin took and nearly squeezed to death. 

“Pleasure to meet you.”

“Ellie is a detective, so you’d best be on your top behaviour this weekend!” Lucy let out a snort of laughter and slapped both Kevin and Ellie on the arms. 

“Luckily I’m off duty,” said Ellie with a little less gusto.

“Well, we’ll get out of your hair. We have some fun plans for the next couple days, but we can’t wait to see you at the party. I’m assuming costumes are mandatory?”

“Not mandatory, but welcomed, I think.”

“You bringing anyone?” Lucy asked with a glint in her eye. 

Ellie wasn’t in the mood for explaining her ersatz romance with her boss in front of Lucy and perfect Kevin. “No,” she said, and left it at that. 

Lucy and Kevin left Ellie to get back to rolling blobs of cookie dough, which she was decidedly not very good at. A sticky mess covered her hands as she tried to set the oven temperature. Prodding at the buttons with her elbows, she heard her phone buzz. She nudged the phone and saw that it was a text from Hardy. 

_A: Have a favour to ask_

She sighed. Hardy was his regular, verbose self even over text messages. She hastily cleaned and dried her hands. 

_E: ask away_

_A: Having car problems, any chance Daisy and I could get a ride to Beth’s party?_

_E: of course, anything to make sure you don’t skive off_

_A: Daisy insists on going. Are costumes really necessary? _

_E: for you, absolutely. You need to wear something other than a suit for once in your life _

_A: If I knew how to get emojis, I would insert a very angry one here _

Ellie laughed at the last message and was scrolling through the emojis to find an appropriate one when another message appeared. 

_A: Speaking of the party, I think we’re going to have to give daisy some sort of proof that our “relationship” is going well so that she stops pressing me about how it’s going. _

Ellie had been worrying about how much longer they could keep up the facade for Daisy before she worked out the truth.

_E: what are you proposing exactly?_

_A: She just needs to see us kiss once, ideally not around many other people. Then we can keep pda to an absolute minimum in public and she can rest assured that it is indeed going well_

_E: as long as you promise not to make it awkward_

_A: This is why I’m telling you now, Miller. So you’re not caught off guard. Don’t forget. _

_E: Kiss Hardy in front of Daisy, entered into my diary ✓_


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's a silly belated halloween chapter that concludes this story! it may be continued eventually, but i might write some one-shots or AUs first
> 
> layout of the latimer house be damned --- whatever it is in the show, i'm pretty it's not the same as i imagine it in my mind, so just roll with it
> 
> enjoy!

Daisy had spent her whole week off helping everyone prepare costumes for Halloween, and so was left to put together her own costume the day of the party. She was going as Luna Lovegood from _Harry Potter_, and had managed to find several components throughout the week to throw together: bottle caps to make a necklace, some strange earrings that looked vaguely like carrots, an assortment of multi-coloured, mismatched shawls, and a wand to tuck behind her ear. She had attempted to curl her hair by tying it in rollers overnight, but what resulted was a scraggly mess—perfect for Loony Lovegood. 

Hardy had attempted to get away with as low-key a costume as he could, and decided that going as a mime was a good idea. It would even give him a convenient excuse for not talking to people. His plan was to simply wear all black with white gloves, but Daisy was hearing none of it and insisted on doing mime makeup. By the time Ellie texted that she was on her way to pick them up, Hardy was completely transformed—he wore a white long sleeve shirt, black trousers and shoes, and a black beret that Daisy had found. She had also covered his face with white face paint, with black markings around his eyes to accentuate the classic mime expression. Now his regular facial expression made him appear extremely sad and forlorn. 

“Perfect,” said Daisy, stepping back to admire her work. “Try to smile as much as possible so you don’t scare people. You look too sad if you keep your neutral expression.” She was met with a scowl from Hardy, who was evidently already settled into his silent mime personality. 

There was a knock at the door and Hardy jerked his leg in his attempt to get up, hitting it painfully on the table. “Fuck,” he muttered under his breath, rubbing his knee. Daisy made it to the door before him and let Ellie in, who was dressed in a long black dress, witch hat, and tattered black shawl, complete with black lipstick. 

“And you are?” Daisy asked. 

“Bellatrix Lestrange. Fred insisted I be a bad guy from Harry Potter with him, even though he hasn’t even read any of the books yet.”

“I love it! You’ll make a perfect pair with his dementor costume,” exclaimed Daisy. “I’m just going to grab the rest of my things and I’ll be ready.” She disappeared into her room as Hardy ambled over, rubbing his knee. 

“Wow, you look miserable,” was the first thing that popped out of Ellie’s mouth. 

“It’s just the makeup,” Hardy said, although he couldn’t deny that he didn’t feel that great. His plan had been to give Ellie a quick peck hello while Daisy was in the room, but now they were standing alone in the living room and his brain was frozen. He was also acutely aware of all the paint covering his face, that would likely rub off onto Miller’s face if he got too close. 

Ellie was equally aware of the obstacles to their seemingly simple plan. She glanced around Hardy’s shoulder as if expecting Daisy to emerge. “Shall we just do it another time,” she whispered. He nodded dejectedly just as Daisy came back into the living room in her full costume. 

“All right, let’s go!” Daisy was clearly ready to have a spectacular Halloween. Hardy tried to smile back at her. On the way out to the car, he grabbed Ellie’s hand and squeezed it once before getting in the car. He hoped that Daisy had noticed as she trailed behind them, probably on her phone. Then he heard her say “awww,” and promptly resolved to not give her a reason to say that ever again. 

\---

With the help of Chloe, Daisy, and Tom, the Latimer house was appropriately decorated for a Halloween party of massive proportions. In the yard, there were pumpkins ready to be carved and a container full of water and apples for bobbing. Strings of fairy lights lined the wooden fence, creating a warm atmosphere. Inside, there were false spiderwebs lining the walls, complete with some grotesquely large plastic spiders and bats. 

In the kitchen, there were jugs of cider alongside a vast selection of beers and wines and a smoking cauldron of punch. Daisy and Chloe had attempted a non-alcoholic butterbeer recipe, which they were secretly hoping to spike with amaretto. They had also made sure to stock up on sweets of every kind, just in case some trick-or-treaters stopped by.

Beth was dressed in all red, matching with Lizzie. She’d found a headband with devil horns and completed the look with bright red lipstick. Tom, dressed as a zombie version of his favourite football player, was in charge of the apple bobbing. Chloe was stationed in the living room by the speakers, grinning at guests through her vampire teeth. When Ellie and the Hardys arrived, Daisy joined Chloe and went about setting up a number of crafts to entertain the younger guests. 

The party was off to a rambunctious and energetic start. People moved freely between the kitchen, the living room, and the yard, refilling drinks, bouncing along to music, and bobbing for apples. There were a lot of parents with younger children, but there were also teenagers and older people. Even Maggie and Jocelyn had made an appearance. Hardy had lost sight of Ellie, and was catching up with Jocelyn when Lucy waltzed in with a pack of friends, mostly men. They had all clearly had a few already. 

“Alec bloody Hardy!” Lucy’s energy level was about ten notches higher than Alec could match. “That is you, isn’t it? I didn’t know you were back in Broadchurch!” 

Alec frowned, which his mime makeup contorted into a desperately sad expression. “And I didn’t realise _you _were back in Broadchurch.” 

“Just for the weekend, don’t look so excited to see me,” Lucy teased. “Now where’s my sister…” She stumbled into the next room in search of Ellie, trailed closely by the group of men. 

\---

“Who _are _all these people,” said Daisy, leaning closer to Chloe to be heard over the din in the living room. The two of them were hidden in the corner of the living room, which had been cleared of furniture to allow for dancing. People had loosened up now that they were playing some dance beats, and Chloe and Daisy had a stash of sweets and a mug full of butterbeer each. “I feel like half the town is here.” 

“Not everyone here even lives in Broadchurch,” Chloe replied, nodding in the direction of a group of twenty-somethings, among which was Olly. “That’s Tom and Fred’s cousin, I think he lives in London now. And there’s his mum, Ellie’s sister. She used to live here too, but she left a few years ago.” 

Daisy turned her attention to where Chloe was gesturing, but all she could see was a tall man with his arms wrapped around someone obscured from view, surrounded by more people she didn’t recognise. Then Ellie came in from outside, and a woman stepped out from the tall man’s grasp. She was wearing a lacy, black, Victorian-style dress, and her hair was a bright coppery colour. She grabbed Ellie’s wrist and pulled her over to her group of friends, close enough that Daisy and Chloe could hear the conversation if they strained hard enough. 

“El! What are you dressed as? I’m Mrs. Lovett and Kevin is Sweeney Todd.”

“I’ve gone for Bellatrix Lestrange,” said Ellie with a swoosh of her wand. 

“Oh, that couldn’t be more perfect, Ellie!” Lucy was gleeful as she steered her sister towards a tall man in a black robe, who happened to be bald. “My mate Raymond here has come as Lord Voldemort!” Lucy leant in to say something only for Ellie’s ears, that Daisy could not catch no matter how far she tilted her chair forward. Lucy then shoved Ellie towards the bald bloke and danced off with her gaggle of friends. 

Daisy’s eyes narrowed. She couldn’t hear what Raymond was saying, but he was leaning very close to Ellie and gazing at her creepily (in Daisy’s opinion). Chloe was on the same wavelength. “I don’t think she’s very close with her sister, she probably hasn’t told her that she’s with your dad now.” 

Darting her eyes around the living room, Daisy started to get angry on behalf of Ellie. “Where _is _my dad, anyway. He should be with her so dimwits like this don’t try chatting her up.” Daisy folded her arms and looked cross. “And why isn’t _she _saying anything to make him go away!” Raymond was using the volume of the music as an excuse to get as close to her face as possible, clearly, but now it seemed like he was suggesting going somewhere where it would be easier to talk. He gestured towards the door to the yard, and they turned. As she made for the exit, Ellie caught Daisy’s glare and gave her a reassuring glance. 

“Right, I’m going to have to go look for him,” Daisy said, getting up. “I’ll be right back.” 

\---

Alec was leaning against the counter in the kitchen, third mug of spiked cider in hand. It was the least crowded area of the party, and Daisy found him there after scanning the yard and checking the entrance hall and bathroom. The black makeup around his eyes was starting to smudge, but he still maintained his miserable mime appearance. He wasn’t standing completely alone, but he was clearly not engaged in the conversation about rugby match statistics between a group of local men near the sink. 

“Dad! What are you doing in here?” Daisy marched over to him at great speed, and he looked up surprised. 

“I’m just havin’ a drink,” he shrugged. “What’s the matter? D’you want to go home?” 

“No,” said Daisy adamantly, “I’d like to know why you aren’t enjoying yourself more and why you’ve left Ellie to fend for herself against creepy bald men in robes?? Dressed as Voldemort!?”

Hardy opened his mouth and gently shook his head, speechless. “She’s catching up with her friends, I’d rather not interfere,” he said, finally. 

“Well, you could at least sulk within eyeshot of her. She’s out in the yard, by the way.” Daisy turned on her heel and left Hardy to take another big gulp of cider and heave a big sigh. 

A few moments later Beth entered the kitchen and raised her voice over everyone else. “The pumpkin-carving contest is about to be judged, everyone out into the yard to vote please!” She ushered everyone out as they grumbled about the cold, grabbing more drinks on the way to the door. Alec hung back, letting everyone file out before him. “You too, Hardy, come on.” 

Alec nodded and made as if to follow, but as soon as Beth disappeared through the doorway, he halted by the counter again. His mug was empty, so he ladled more cider into it and added a healthy splash of rum. After taking a sip, he decided that he would go to the bathroom to remove the ridiculous makeup before going outside to find Miller, if she _wanted _to be found by him. Seemed to him that Ellie had completely forgotten about his existence during the party—she had so many other friends to keep her company. 

He turned towards the door and was met face to face with Miller, looking slightly murderous. “Are you alright?” she said. “I haven’t seen you all evening.” She moved forward and placed a hand on his arm. 

“Sorry,” he said with a gruff sigh. “Daisy said there was a man bothering you?

“I was worried she’d seen that,” she said guiltily. “It was nothing, though. He was trying it on, but he’s bald so he hasn’t got a chance in hell.” She chuckled, although her eyes held a dark expression. “It was one of Lucy’s mates, I think she thought she’d try and set me up tonight.”

Hardy shook his head. “All these meddling family members, when will they just leave us alone.” He had forgotten about Ellie’s hand on his arm, but was promptly reminded when she began to rub it very softly over his shirt. This was the most she’d voluntarily touched him since… ever. He didn’t know how to respond so he just gawked at her while she rubbed his arm, staring absent-mindedly at his elbow. 

“I think… you should kiss me. Like you said you would earlier. I…” she faltered and momentarily made eye contact with him. “I was looking forward to it,” she murmured. 

His eyes widened like saucers. “How much have you had to drink, Miller?”

“Less than you, if you’ve been in here drinking the whole time,” she said, snatching the mug of cider from his hand and placing it firmly on the counter. 

Hardy stammered. “This paint on my face comes off really easily, it’ll get all over you.” 

Ellie’s eyebrows raised and she gave him a smirk but didn’t say anything. She was getting closer, her deep brown eyes now holding his gaze until she broke it to glance down at his lips. “You look pathetic in that costume. So sad.”

Then Ellie slid her other hand behind his neck, drawing herself closer until their mouths met delicately. She kissed him and it was over almost before he had time to register the feeling of her soft lips on his. She broke away to look at him, but just one glance into her eyes and he dipped his head back down hungrily, pushing her backwards gently. This kiss was more passionate and desperate, her fingers were tangled in his hair and he had dared to place a hand on her waist to hold her close as they stumbled back towards the counter. Her lips parted and his tongue probed her mouth with an intense curiosity—

“—fucking hell!” Ellie broke the kiss abruptly.

“What,” panted Alec, worried that he had gone too far and she was now going to push him away for good. 

“You rammed me directly into the sodding knobs for the gas stove, you wanker,” she said, shifting to the left.

“Sorry,” mumbled Hardy. His hand was still gripping the side of her dress. Ellie wrapped her arms around his torso then and enveloped him in a tight embrace. He buried his nose in the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent and slowly kissing down her neck to her shoulder. He raised her head and kissed her again, taking care to savour it this time.

When they broke apart, there was a misty look in Hardy’s eyes and a pleased grin plastered to his face. Then they both burst into laughter simultaneously. 

“What are _you _laughing at,” said Ellie through giggles. 

“There’s white paint on your dress, neck, and cheeks. And the tip of your nose.” He rubbed off some of it with his thumb. “Why are _you _laughing.” 

“Because you look like an absolute clown! Come on, let’s clean that makeup off your face.” She beckoned him to follow her and they went hand in hand into the loo at the foot of the stairs. “I want to kiss you when you don’t look like you’re about to start miming being stuck in an imaginary box.” At that, Alec’s lips broke into a stupid grin that was impossible for him to wipe off his face until Ellie had removed all the face paint and started kissing him again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! i'll be around, maybe posting things intermittently as they come to me  
say hello on tumblr if you like, i procrastinate a lot on there  
https://www.tumblr.com/blog/georginabulsara


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